cinemalover: Confessions of a Video Junkie

Chit-chat, current events
User avatar
cinemalover
Posts: 1594
Joined: April 17th, 2007, 10:57 am
Location: Seattle, Washington

Post by cinemalover »

Tonight is Wednesday night and I coach Jeremy's soccer practice tonight. Usually lucky if I get in one short movie or show on Wednesdays (possibly none since Felix Hernandez is pitching for the Mariners tonight which is always worth a watch). I did watch The Adventures of Rusty last night as recorded off of TCM Monday night. I'll write up my thoughts on it sometime today. I was very curious about it because I had never heard of it and because TCM will be showing a whole series of Rusty film on Saturday mornings once the Crime Doctor series is over.
Later.
Chris

The only bad movie is no movie at all.
User avatar
cinemalover
Posts: 1594
Joined: April 17th, 2007, 10:57 am
Location: Seattle, Washington

Post by cinemalover »

Okay, back from soccer practice. In the 90 minutes we were there, it rained, the glorious sun made a welcome appearance and then it was overcast , windy and cold. I love spring in Seattle. Poor kids, running around in this always changing weather, they don't know whether to wear a coat or strip down to a t-shirt. Two players didn't show, that doesn't fare well for the game on Saturday.

I gotta make the kids some dinner and get Jeremy and I warmed up.
Chris

The only bad movie is no movie at all.
User avatar
cinemalover
Posts: 1594
Joined: April 17th, 2007, 10:57 am
Location: Seattle, Washington

Review #90

Post by cinemalover »

Here are my thoughts on Rusty from last night. I was hoping for something a little more interesting since there will be several entries coming up on Tcm. But sometimes you get what you pay for.

Date watched:4/17/2007
Title: Adventures of Rusty Made: 1945
Genre: Family/Adventure Studio: Columbia
Format: DVD-R Source: TCM
# of times viewed: First

Stars:
Ace the Wonder Dog (I kid you not!)--Rusty
Ted Donaldson--Danny Mitchell
Margaret Lindsay--Ann Mitchell
Conrad Nagel--Hugh Mitchell
Gloria Holden--Louise Hover
Robert Williams--Will Nelson
Addison Richards--Dr. Banning

Plot: Danny is having a really bad day. His dog, Skipper, gets run over the same day that his Dad (Hugh Mitchell played by Nagel) is getting remarried to Ann (Lindsay). Danny realizes that Dad's new wife will be getting most of Dad's affection and that Danny may be left out in the cold.

Ann must try to win Danny's affection to have peace in the house. Danny just wants to push Ann's buttons. Danny enters the kitchen with his face covered in mud.
Ann "My goodness honey. What happened to your face? Better go up and wash it right away!"
Danny "I like it this way!"
Ann "Well, I don't"
Danny "Folks who don't like it, don't have to stay around to look at it!"

Danny's not subtle in his displeasure. He's not going to make this easy on Ann.

To help fill the emotional void, Danny finds himself drawn to his neighbor's (Will Nelson played by Williams) dog. The dog is a German Shepherd named Rusty. Will is a vet and brought the dog back with him from Germany. Rusty was trained by Nazis and only understands German commands. On his first couple of encounters with Rusty Danny gets growled at and bitten.

Rusty escapes his pen and happens across Danny in the woods. Rusty is limping and Danny bandages his paw. No better way to make friends, it wasn't exactly a thorn, but you get the idea.

Will Nelson thinks that Rusty is just too mean and ponders having him put down. Danny begs him to give him Rusty. Danny insists that Rusty is not mean, he's just full of "intestinal fortitude."

Danny starts to train Rusty and tries to rid him of his mean streak. He takes Rusty to Dr. Banning (Richards), a psychiatrist, to help him correct Rusty's behavior. He receives some sound advice. Later that afternoon Ann also goes to see Dr. Banning for some advice on how to handle Danny. The advice she gets is identical to the advice that Danny got.

But enough about the domestic situation. Let's throw in a sub-plot with German spies. Will Rusty join his former Nazis colleagues or will he be a hero and expose the spies?

4* (out of 10) Rusty is a Rin Tin Tin wannabe, but at least a well-intentioned one. All things considered, I'd rather watch a Lassie rerun.
Last edited by cinemalover on April 23rd, 2008, 1:01 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Chris

The only bad movie is no movie at all.
User avatar
cinemalover
Posts: 1594
Joined: April 17th, 2007, 10:57 am
Location: Seattle, Washington

Post by cinemalover »

Good morning everybody. The children are off to their morning destinations and I'm hard (?) at work in my office. Staring out my window at dark clouds with a few slivers of blue. No, really now, I have to get my project done, there's deadlines to meet and all that, but I'll check by later.

Enjoy your coffee!
Chris

The only bad movie is no movie at all.
User avatar
cinemalover
Posts: 1594
Joined: April 17th, 2007, 10:57 am
Location: Seattle, Washington

Review #91

Post by cinemalover »

Well, it's a beautiful, sunny morning in Seattle and I feel like posting! Here are my thoughts on one of the Falcon series entries. I still have a stack of these detective flicks to catch up on from my TCM recording last month. I have seen most of the Falcon films once before (I think from the glory days of AMC) but not in the last 10 years. My memeory told me that I had liked George Sanders much better than I liked Tom Conway in the role, but in this film at least, Conway does a great job. He is up to the smooth bar set high by George.

Date watched: 4/18/2007
Title: The Falcon and the Co-Eds Made: 1943
Genre: Detective Studio: RKO
Format: DVD-R Source: TCM
# of times viewed: 2

Stars:
Tom Conway--Tom Lawrence, the Falcon
Jean Brooks--Vicky Gaines
Rita Corday--Marguerita Serena
Amelita Ward--Jane Harris
Isabel Jewell--Mary Phoebus
George Givot--Dr. Anatole Graelich
Cliff Clark--Inspector Tim Donovan
Ed Gargan--Detective Bates

Plot: The Falcon (Conway) is asked to investigate what at first appears to be the accidental death of Professor Jamieson at the Bluecliff School for young ladies. It is divulged that Professor Jamieson and another member of the school staff, Dr. Anatole Graelich (Givot), were competing for the affections of the lovely Vicky Gaines (Brooks), a drama and fencing teacher at the school. The Falcon's probing reveals that Jamieson's death was a murder, not an accident. During a performance of the students at the school auditorium another body is found dead outside. It is Miss Keyes, Dean of the school. There is a bloody fencing foil near the body.

Marguerita is a student that is somewhat shunned by many of the students, they think that she may be psychic and a more than a little strange. Marguerita foretold this second death. Her father had been a well-known artist who himself went bonkers and killed himself. She fears family history may repeat itself. She becomes a suspect in the murders, and she's not sure that she didn't commit them.

Further investigation muddies the waters as it turns out that Dr. Graelich secretly married the school secretary Mary (Jewell), just so he could become a citizen and stay in the States to teach and be near his true love, Vicky. Graelich never pretended to love Mary, but a girl can dream, can't she?

Is Mary behind the murders to make it look like Vicky is guilty to remove her from the triangle? Or is Marguerita going batty like her daddy? The police can't deduce the truth so it's up to the Falcon!

My favorite Falcon quote, "It just so happens that I have a phobia about being shot at!"

7* (out of 10) Very lively and quickly-paced. It keeps your interest until the end. Conway does a nice job in a role he assumed from his brother, George Sanders.
Last edited by cinemalover on April 23rd, 2008, 1:01 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Chris

The only bad movie is no movie at all.
User avatar
cinemalover
Posts: 1594
Joined: April 17th, 2007, 10:57 am
Location: Seattle, Washington

Review #92

Post by cinemalover »

I recently purchased the second season of the Wild Wild West on DVD. I had already devoured season 1 and was glad when this was released. This show hit me at the right time, right age and right topic. I absolutely love this show and am not ashamed to admit it. Spies and cowboys rolled in with great gadgets, wonderful villains and really good stunt work. I have been going through each episode like my favorite candy. Savoring each one to make them last. Usually when I watch a season of shows I rip thourgh them relatively quickly, I am showing controlled restraint with this set. I have all the my opinions on the season so far, episode by episdoe posted on a thread in the TCM westerns section. Maybe I'm the only nut who thinks this show is so much fun, but if not I'd love to hear your memories of the show, good or bad. All that being said and the first episode I'm posting on this site is not a banner example of what I love so much.

Date watched: 4/18/2007
Title: The Wild Wild West TV Show Made: 1966-67
Genre: Western/Spy Studio: CBS-Paramount
Format: DVD Extras-This is the complete Series 2--28 episodes
# of times viewed: 5

Season 2 Episode 6 Original Air Date: 10/21/66
The Night of the Flying Pie Plate

Stars:
Robert Conrad--James "Jim" West
Ross Martin--Artemus "Arte" Gordon
Guest stars:
William Windom--Ben Victor
Ford Rainey--Simon
Woodrow Chambliss--Wing
Arlene Charles--Alna, the Venusian
Cindy Taylor--Pan, the Venusian
Leslie Parrish--Morn, the Venusian

Plot: Well, as you can probably judge from the title of this episode, this is going to be one of the sillier entries. Jim is escorting a large shipment of army gold to the bank at a mining town to keep in the safe there. The army will be along in a couple of days to pick it up. Jim is to meet Ben Victor (Windom) who will secure the gold in the bank. As they are crossing the street to the bank there is a flaming trail across the sky which seems to land just beyond the horizon. The excitement causes all the residents to go to the woods and see what happened. They are greeted by a pie plate shaped vehicle (Jim would later say that it looked more like a ...saucer) and three beautiful green-skinned blonde babes. The women introduce themselves as Venusians who had to land on Earth because their spacecraft was low on fuel. It seems that all they need is some fuel and they will be on their way. Funny thing though, their craft uses gold as fuel, because gold is very plentiful on their planet. All they'll need is about 400 pounds of the stuff, that shouldn't be any problem now should it? (Eye-lashes fluttering!).

Their groovy garb is covered by multi-colored gems. When asked about them they reply, oh, these old things. Why they cover the ground at home, absolutely worthless. We just adorn our clothing with them because they look pretty. They even toss some samples to the townsfolk so they can examine them.

The men of this mining town all get stars in their eyes as they are mentally spending the potential riches of the jewels. And, guess what...they are real! Arte is in town disguised as Dirk Dejaun, gem expert. He verifies the worth of the stones. The townsfolk and miners decide to scrape up all the gold they can get their hands on for the Venusians, because they'll get 10 times the value back in gems with the exchange. Ben Victor keeps stirring up their interests in this transaction, fanning the flames of greed. The town comes up with about 150 pounds of gold, still 250 pounds short of the Venusians' needs. Where, oh, where could they come up with the rest? Maybe they could "borrow" some of that government gold to fill the need? And who is really behind this clever plot?

In the background Arte is poking around trying to find the truth behind this apparent scam. He gets caught be the aliens and given a chemical which turns his skin green. He looks like Kermit the frog.

9* (out of 10) For the series.
7* (out of 10) For this episode. This one is definitely lower tier for the series, but it is still a lot of goofy fun. Plus, you get to see Jim make-out with an alien. He and James Kirk had a thing for green-skinned women!

Now the countdown begins for my favorite night of the week...Family Friday Movie night! In just a few hours I'll be enjoying the company of my wonderful (and spoiled) children for feast and films!
Last edited by cinemalover on April 23rd, 2008, 1:02 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Chris

The only bad movie is no movie at all.
User avatar
cinemalover
Posts: 1594
Joined: April 17th, 2007, 10:57 am
Location: Seattle, Washington

Post by cinemalover »

I went strolling through the TCM message board and boy is it calm, almost catatonic. It looks like posters are afraid to post any questionable remarks. We'll have to see how long that will last. It sure is nice right now though.
Chris

The only bad movie is no movie at all.
User avatar
cinemalover
Posts: 1594
Joined: April 17th, 2007, 10:57 am
Location: Seattle, Washington

Post by cinemalover »

Wow, busy friday evening. I took the kids grocery shopping. Then our dining selection tonight was the Mongolian Grill...yummy. Got home and trimmed the grass borders with Jeremy, then gave him a haircut. A nice aerodynamic buzz-cut so he'll be in top form for his soccer game tomorrow morning. And even got in a run for myself. And no, I didn't stay at a Holiday Inn last night.

In about 15 minutes we'll be able to settle down to some serious movie watching. After that run, I may be the first to pass out tonight!
Chris

The only bad movie is no movie at all.
User avatar
cinemalover
Posts: 1594
Joined: April 17th, 2007, 10:57 am
Location: Seattle, Washington

Review #93

Post by cinemalover »

Well, Jeremy konked out first this time, about half way through the movie. Tina almost made it to the end, but not quite. And I'm wide awake at the key board. Tonight we watched Jimmy Hollywood starring Joe Pesci. Tina's choice. Bad choice, this was a bowser. So while I try to sort my thoughts on it and find a way to describe it without using Pesci-like language, here is a movie I watched last night...

Date watched: 4/19/2007
Title: Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines Made: 1965
Genre: Comedy/Adventure Studio: 20th Century Fox
Format: DVD-R Source: Fox Movie Channel
# of times viewed: 12

Stars:
Stuart Whitman--Orvil Newton
Sarah Miles--Patricia Rawnsley
James Fox--Richard Mays
Alberto Sordi--Count Emilio Ponticelli
Robert Morley--Lord Rawnsley
Gert Frobe--Col. Manfred Von Holstein
Terry-Thomas--Sir Percy Ware-Armitage
Eric Sykes--Courtney
Red Skelton--Neanderthal Man
Benny Hill--Fire Chief Perkins
Jean-Pierre Cassel--Pierre Dubois
Yojiro Ishihara--Yamamoto

Tagline: How I flew from London to Paris in 25 hours 11 minutes.

Plot: The story revolves around Lord Rawnsley getting his newspaper to sponsor a London to Paris air race around 1909. Rawnsley wants to prove that England can rule the skies as it rules the sea.The prize money is large enough to draw entrants from all countries. Some are competing for national pride, some just in desperate need of the money to finance their flying habit.

Lord Rawnsley judging the drawbacks of the race, "The trouble with these international affairs is that they attract foreigners."

Once all the pilots are drawn together prior to the race they display their stereotypical traits associated with their individual countries. This thrown together with some slapstick humor and the fascinating period aircraft makes for an interesting mix. Some of the pilots, or their backers engage in underhanded behavior usually leading to comic results. The international cast is a joy, but the material they are given to work with is pretty broad.

Sir Percy (Terry-Thomas) is a wonderfully evil buffoon. When he attempts to sabotage Orvil's (Whitman) plane his assistant, Courtney (Sykes), is concerned.
Courtney, "But he might kill himself!"
Percy, "Oh Well. There are plenty more Americans where he came from!"

As a kid I remember loving this movie and The Great Race. I saw them both in the theatre and many times on TV. My sense of humor has grown in a different direction and now I only find it sporadically funny. Terry-Thomas as Sir Percy gives me the most giggles.


6* (out of 10) At 138 minutes the film is a good 20 minutes too long. It's fun in spurts but I found my attention being easily diverted. It's just not my cup of tea any longer.
Last edited by cinemalover on April 23rd, 2008, 1:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Chris

The only bad movie is no movie at all.
User avatar
ken123
Posts: 1797
Joined: April 14th, 2007, 4:08 pm
Location: Chicago

Post by ken123 »

I haven't seen TMMITFM since it's original release, I found it very boring. :cry:
User avatar
cinemalover
Posts: 1594
Joined: April 17th, 2007, 10:57 am
Location: Seattle, Washington

Post by cinemalover »

ken123,
I always find it interesting how the first time you see a film shades your impression of it forever. I truly enjoyed this as a tot, but seeing it for the first time in probably 20 years, it is quite overblown. I wonder if The Great Race will be as much of a disappointment if I catch it again.
Chris

The only bad movie is no movie at all.
User avatar
moira finnie
Administrator
Posts: 8024
Joined: April 9th, 2007, 6:34 pm
Location: Earth
Contact:

The Adventures of Rusty (1945)

Post by moira finnie »

Hi Cinemalover,
I enjoyed your take on The Adventures of Rusty (1945) and, since I've always found Ted Donaldson to be a good little actor, (particularly in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn as Peggy Ann Garner's "no-mushy-stuff" younger brother--made in the same year as this little movie), I enjoyed the picture quite a bit. I was especially drawn to the timely "de-Nazification" theme of the German Shepard's story. I thought that Donaldson's fascination with this "dog who speaks German" was a realistically childish aspect of the story.

The weaknesses, and unlikely turns of the film's plot, were actually part of the high entertainment value that I found in this movie. The major weakness of the story's narrative, aside from the tacked-on feel of those rather aimless Fascist spies eating hot dogs in the woods and barking orders at the police dog that they happened upon during their wanderings, was the casting.

This film's adult & human cast seemed to consist of studio players of the '20s and '30s who had fallen on hard times. The one-time pride of MGM drawing room films, Conrad Nagel, as Pop Mitchell, posing manfully against the trappings of his rustic home while sucking on a pipe, getting remarried to Warners' alumnus Margaret Lindsay without consulting his son much, and never responding with much consistency to his lad's problems, was perhaps the weakest link here. Longtime character utility player Addison Richards as the shrink who cast his advice to both StepMom Margaret and Rusty's pal Danny Mitchell (Ted D.) really should've had his license to practice revoked--since he applied the same "benign neglect" and "make 'em beg for attention" logic to both human and canine relationships! Most welcome addition to the cast among the adults for me was Gloria "Dracula's Daughter" Holden, who was a real nosy parker as the bride's buddy. Oh yeah, and the blithe dismissal of the loss of Danny's little dog at the beginning of the film by her left me slack-jawed at the apparent callousness and denseness of these alleged adults.

Anyway, I'm actually looking forward to the future airings of the Rusty series on TCM. Maybe it's also because I'm a sucker for a dog story, as you might've gathered here or if you saw my comments on the amusing Rin-tin-tin flick Clash of the Wolves(1925) in the silent section of this site earlier this week. I'm really glad that you're posting your reviews here as well as on TCM. They're alot of fun to read.
User avatar
cinemalover
Posts: 1594
Joined: April 17th, 2007, 10:57 am
Location: Seattle, Washington

Post by cinemalover »

moirafinnie,
I'm glad that you enjoyed Rusty. I thought that with the rather unique premise of a Nazi-schooled dog that I would find it interesting and entertaining, but I just didn't connect with it. Ted D. did a nice job with his part and Ace the Wonder Dog seems up on his thespian skills, but the rest of the cast just looked like they were going through the motions to me. I'm still hoping that future installments will improve as the actors adjust to their roles. I hope the Nazi-angled novelty doesn't wear off and keeps the approach fresh for the rest of the series.
Chris

The only bad movie is no movie at all.
User avatar
cinemalover
Posts: 1594
Joined: April 17th, 2007, 10:57 am
Location: Seattle, Washington

Review #94

Post by cinemalover »

It's Friday Family Movie night. After our delicious meal and the errands are done it's time to enjoy a movie. It's Tina's turn this week so here we go...

Date watched: 4/20/2007
Title: Jimmy Hollywood Made: 1994
Genre:Drama/Comedy Studio: Paramount
Format: DVD Extras:Enhanced widescreen
# of times viewed:First and last

Tagline: One thing stands between Jimmy and stardom. Reality.

Director: Barry Levinson

Stars:
Joe Pesci--Jimmy Alto
Christian Slater--William
Victoria Abril--Lorraine de la Pena
Jason Beghe--Detective
Hal Fishman--Anchorperson
John Cothran Jr.--Detective
Paula Lopez--Newscaster

Plot: Jimmy (Pesci) is the world's greatest actor...just ask him. If only it weren't for all those Hollywood politics that cause lesser talents to get the good roles. Jimmy's friend, William (Slater), who lives his life a few ounces short of a soda, follows him in whatever he does. Jimmy's girlfriend Lorraine (Abril) is tiring of Jimmy's deadbeat lifestyle as he sits around waiting for an acting gig.

Jimmy's temper has been gradually elevating and he finally blows when he comes home to find his car window smashed and his radio stolen. He's just not going to take it anymore. He and William get a video camera and a gun and go hunting for radio wranglers. The first time out they strike gold. They spy a radio thief in the act, catch it on tape, and then catch the thief. They hog-tie the crook and drop him off in front of the police station with the tape of the crime and a note signed SOS. Save Our Streets.

As Jimmy's acting possibilities shrink his activities as a SOS vigilante prosper. Jimmy assumes the role of Jericho, leader of SOS, and the media frenzy just fuels Jimmy's actor ego. Lorraine gets fed up with the whole thing and is afraid that Jimmy will get hurt or arrested. She can't communicate with him and so she packs up and heads out the door. Jimmy yells after her, "You can't talk to ME?! !You can't talk to ME?!! You're out of the Oscar speech!"

Every scene has to be Hollywood related to Jimmy.

The story drudges on, trying to weave a commentary negatively comparing the current state of Hollywood to the Golden Age. Skip this and stick to TCM to get your lessons on classic Hollywood!

2* (out of 10) For Joe Pesci completists only (if such a thing exists). If possible the ending was even worse than the rest of the drivel.

Jeremy was first out this week, about halfway through this thing. Tina lasted to almost the end, but she didn't miss out on this turkey. really disappointing. I thought this was going to have a few laughs along the lines of My Cousin Vinny, but no such luck. Avoid at all costs, yardwork would be more entertaining.
Last edited by cinemalover on April 23rd, 2008, 1:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Chris

The only bad movie is no movie at all.
User avatar
cinemalover
Posts: 1594
Joined: April 17th, 2007, 10:57 am
Location: Seattle, Washington

Post by cinemalover »

The Mighty Eagles win! The Mighty Eagles win! The Mighty Eagles win! Did I mention that the Mighty Eagles won today? They break their unbearable two gain losing streak and take out all their frustrations on the down-trodden Pumas!

Young master Jeremy strikes the back of the net twice as he returns to full health with a fury. His wingmate Alexis tallies three as the final score is a satisfying 5-0. We even got to stick Jeremy in as Goalie so he wouldn't run up the score.
Chris

The only bad movie is no movie at all.
Post Reply